The Senior Deputy Speaker

House of Lords: Facilities

Lord Storey: To ask the Senior Deputy Speaker why House of Commons staff are able to bring guests into House of Lords facilities while Members of the House of Lords are currently not allowed to do so.

Lord Touhig: The Senior Deputy Speaker has asked me, as Chair of the Services Committee, to respond on his behalf. Currently access for non-passholders is limited to one guest per member or full staff passholder and those guests must have a business need. This is the same in both the House of Commons and House of Lords. Committees can bring in non-passholders as required. Catering venues in the Lords are applying usual access arrangements within the limits of these restrictions.

Ministry of Defence

Afghanistan: RAF Regiment

Lord Naseby: To ask Her Majesty's Government why the Royal Air Force Regiment was not deployed to support the evacuation operation in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Baroness Goldie: The Ministry of Defence deploys the appropriate unit to each operation dependent on a number of factors. These include readiness, capability and the required task, as well taking into account current commitments. Consequently, elements from the RAF Regiment were deployed to Afghanistan as part of Operation PITTING.

Afghanistan: Asylum

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether those who apply to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy scheme receive a receipt or acknowledgment of their application; and what is the timeframe for processing applications following the completion of security checks.

Baroness Goldie: All applicants to the Afghan Relocation and Assistance Policy (ARAP) are directed to a confirmation screen on completion of the application form, with the option to print or save this as record of their submission.In the latter stages of Op PITTING and subsequently we have received a very large number of applications, including 12,000 since the end of the operation. The time taken to process applications varies enormously, in particular based on the amount of information the applicant provides. Security checks are principally a Home Office requirement and are conducted once eligibility in principle has been established.

Defence Intelligence

Lord Blunkett: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many individuals are employed by the Defence Intelligence organisation; and what is the budget for its operations.

Baroness Goldie: The Defence Intelligence workforce at 31 March 2021 was circa 4,100 people and the budget for the same period was £349 million. We report annually to the Intelligence and Security Committee of Parliament on the size of the Defence Intelligence workforce and budget. The Committee normally publishes this information in its Annual Reports.

Veterans Advisory and Pensions Committees

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to expand the role of the Veterans Advisory and Pension Committees.

Baroness Goldie: We are currently working with the Veterans Advisory and Pension Committees (VAPCs) to ensure they can continue to make veterans' voices heard within Government, and support both the Ministry of Defence and the Office for Veterans' Affairs as we improve veterans' services and deliver on the Strategy for Our Veterans. This may include, in agreement with the VAPCs, some additional activities over and above their existing statutory functions. We will have an update on this in due course.